


Part of Your World

by vivsoniamx



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Niam - Freeform, a bit of angst?, merman!niall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-13 03:14:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5692492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivsoniamx/pseuds/vivsoniamx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"And that's how Liam Payne, one of the wealthiest young adults of the UK, found himself still outside although the rain was pouring at this point, arms rested on the rail of his very own boat, that he had bought about five years ago when he had been twenty-one and started finding an interest in fishing."</p><p>Or the one were hobby-fisher Liam meets the sweet ethereal merman Niall on a particularly rainy day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Part of Your World

**Author's Note:**

  * For [balefully](https://archiveofourown.org/users/balefully/gifts).



> Hi!! This is the first time I participated in an exchange so I hope I did everything right! I am not sure if you wanted me to write smut for this prompt but I didn't and I hope that didn't upset you? I'm also not exactly sure if you had what I wrote in mind while writing down the prompt but I hope you still like it? 
> 
> Also I'm thanking my friend Christina (@Niamcuddles) for beta-reading and helping me with details for the prompt! 
> 
> Happy reading!!

Even though Liam had been more than sure that today would've been the perfect day to pursue his hobby of going fishing, the typical British weather had ruined his prediction. Not only was he already drenched in water but it seemed like no fish was nibbling at the baits. It was at times like this that the brunet man considered listening to his annoying friends sometimes, who would always take the chance to tease him or bug him about his interest in fishing when he actually could do 'more fun stuff', just how his best friend Louis had stressed.  
It wasn't that they despised fishing but ever since Liam had ditched a yacht trip to go fishing instead, they, or more precisely Louis, had taken offence and never ceased to stop reminding the latter about it. In all honesty, it was slowly starting to annoy Liam but deep down he knew he could never be angry with him for too long. That didn't mean he always listened to what his friend would say, though.

That was why he found himself in the middle of a typical rain shower outside on his rather large boat - sometimes his friends would tease him about how his boat was almost as big as a yacht and he really didn't fear spending money, but the brunet man would always protest by saying he was just very passionate about his hobby, that almost always earned him a snort - in a grumpy mood, as he let out yet another huff. Maybe it was just his luck, that's been lacking at the moment, and he would be sitting outside with the cold raindrops soaking his clothes, until he could literally feel the water running down his skin and pooling in his shoes, for the next few hours until he'd go back home again. The thought actually sounded quite appealing right now because Liam would have loved to rather sit inside his warm, cosy apartment than shiver outside because he had chosen the conceivably worst day ever to go fishing.

His grumpy mood only increased as he noticed that even after an hour of fishing, he hadn't caught an actual fish yet although most of the time it didn't take him longer than five minutes to get his first fish. But since he felt embarrassed to go home without having caught any fish at all and with his clothes soaked and drenched in water, and also because he feared that the dreaded 'I told you so' would be the first thing his best mate would say to him, the brunet man decided to stay until he would at least have one tiny fish to go home with. Perchance, it was just a pride-thing or it was gnawing at his ego, but he definitely wasn't about to give up just like that.

And that's how Liam Payne, one of the wealthiest young adults of the UK, found himself still outside although the rain was pouring at this point, arms rested on the rail of his very own boat, that he had bought about five years ago when he had been twenty-one and started finding an interest in fishing. It was stupid, even Liam knew as much as that while he let out yet another frustrated sigh, eyes basically boring into the waves of the lake beneath his feet.  
Of course, Liam knew that it could've gone even worse, considering he once fell into the water because he had leaned out of the boat for whatever reason, he couldn't even remember. The only thing that was stuck in his head was how embarrassed he had felt as he had fallen into the water and had to climb back up into his boat, his best friend not making it any better by laughing his ass off.

Ironically, he was completely drenched in water again, this time not due to his own stupidity but because of the British rain. He plopped back down on the little seat he had put next to his fishing gear, blinking the rain droplets out of his eyes. For a split second, Liam considered to just pull his fishing-rod and line back in, drive to shore and then proceed to go home without anyone ever finding out what a failure this day had been, hadn't there been a tug on the fishing line. At first Liam thought he only imagined the tug, that his eyes played tricks, on him but then he saw it again and he almost leaped out of his seat in excitement.

Finally a fish had nibbled on the bait, apparently, so the brunet man didn't waste a second as he got the little box he'd use to put the fish into, out and went over to grab the rod. He quickly proceeded to pull the fish up and out of the water, occasionally using his hands to wipe the wet hair out of his forehead. This fish seemed to be stronger than normally, Liam literally had to take a few steps back to be able to pull harder, internally hoping that the line wouldn't rip because that would really suck after a very unsuccessful fishing day.  
"C'mon work..," he mumbled under his breath as he pulled his arms back, suddenly hearing a loud splashing sound. With his eyes wide in anticipation, the brunet man hoped that that sound meant the fish was finally out of the water but as he reeled in the line, all the excitement and hope left his body as he saw that there was no fish on the hook.

"Shit," Liam said, palm rubbing over his face to get the rain out of his eyes as he set the rod down, and walked over to the rail to peer down into the water in hopes of maybe getting a glimpse of the fish he would've caught if he had been quicker.  
But to Liam's surprise he didn't see a fish or anything close to that in the lake beneath him, but a boy that was peering up at him with wide blue shining eyes. "Fuck!"

The brunet man almost stumbled back in shock because he really wasn't expecting a boy in the water outside of his boat, just casually swimming while it was pouring down buckets of rain. Maybe Liam should have been worried, seeing as the boy most certainly didn't wear a shirt or a wet suit and the water must've been extremely cold at this time of the year and in the middle of a rain storm, but the shock overtook him completely as he looked down into his face. "Mate, what are you doing there?," Liam called out, knowing it was probably hard for the dark blond boy to understand because the waves were thrashing around wildly, the rain was still splashing down and the wind was surely whipping more and more water into his face.

"I could ask you the same thing," the blond retorted, arms crossing over his chest and for a moment Liam wondered how he was even able to keep himself above the surface without using his arms but the thought left his mind as the boy in the water giggled. "Were you using this?," the blond asked and held his hand up, the bait Liam had used in his palm. How did he get that?

"What, how do you have that?," Liam asked confused, "I was about to get that fish, did you..."

"If you're wondering if I helped a poor fish out of your trap, don't worry, I already told all of them not to go near that hook. Damn, something like that can really hurt one of my friends, yeah?," the boy in the water shook his head and threw the bait into the water, waves immediately swallowing it down. Liam just stood there shocked, not even caring that the water was running down his face as he opened his mouth in confusion. And that's what he was, completely and utterly confused.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Liam leaned back, thinking about what had just happened. He most certainly just met a crazy boy that called fish his friends and was swimming in a lake without a wet suit or anything else on, while it was raining and whipping cold wind into his face. "Are you okay? Like not to be rude or anything, but who considers fish their friends? Or are you talking about someone else cause..." Liam gestured helplessly and looked around, hoping he wasn't making a fool out of himself right now.  
The blond didn't seem to care really because he rolled his eyes, another giggle emitting from him as if this whole situation was extremely funny to him and Liam was being unreasonable.

"Well yeah, they're my friends and I don't want people like you killing my friends," he said, a small smile on his face as he used his arms to gently float above the water. Liam probably hadn't seen someone who was this good in swimming as the boy beneath him since he hadn't lost his balance once and made swimming, with that kind of rain storm going on around him, look effortlessly. Not that Liam really envied him because he sure as hell didn't want to be in that lake at a time like this, or ever really.

Perhaps Liam was being rude because he hadn't offered to let the boy come up into his boat yet but he had been preoccupied with his swiveling thoughts about why the boy was in the water and why he called fish his friends. Maybe he was one of those really sad and lonely college students that started to do weird shit to get a bit of a stress relief? Who knew anyways.  
"Okay, um, sorry for that? Do you wanna come up into my boat? I mean you won't really get dry up here but I can imagine it's better than being inside that lake," Liam said, brows furrowed as he pointed over at the ladder, hoping that the blond would understand that.

"Oh that's funny," the blond suddenly exclaimed and giggled again, suddenly moving a bit further away from the boat – of course not failing to make it look extremely effortlessly – that huge smile still on his face, only causing Liam to be more confused. "Won't really be able to use that, but thanks anyways, I wanna stay home," he shrugged cutely and leaned back in the water, raising his legs – but wait. Liam blinked a few times, almost feeling awkward and embarrassed as he had to wipe the water out of his eyes again to be able to see clearly again. It was impossible that the blond didn't have legs but something blue and shiny there instead. Something with scales and looking a lot like a fish tail. Jesus Christ, was Liam going crazy now?

"What the fuck, mate," Liam breathed out in shock, causing the blond to laugh loudly as the fish tail that was connected to the boys torso flopped around in the air. Was he one of those weird kids that had mermaid suit things? That looked extremely realistic to Liam and he really didn't know anything about mermaids or those suits but that seemed to be too realistic looking to be fake. "You really shocked me for a second, but cool that you like mermaids enough to get a suit like hat. Isn't that expensive? Like not that I'm judging, but how come you have something like that?"

"Something like what? You mean my tail?," the blond cocked his head to the side in confusion, for some reason causing heat to rush up to Liam's cheeks because he probably just talked some shit that was really embarrassing. "Oh, I was born like that, my Ma said mine is the colour of my eyes and really pretty. Do you think that, too?"

"What-"

The crazy blond moved his tail or suit or whatever that thing really was back into the water and swam over to the boat again, holding onto the rail and pulling himself up by his arms so he was face to face with Liam. The brunet had to admit he was really attractive, even more so when they were closer and he could look into his alluring bright blue eyes without the rain blurring his side – but Liam thought the blond was crazy and just because he might be a bit attractive didn't mean he had alluring eyes. Liam shook his head to get the thoughts out of his head.  
"You do know about mermaids, yeah? Not the sirens, those are pretty mean, luring men into the water and eating their hearts," he shook his head all while Liam's eyes widened, "Anyways, I'm not exactly female but there are a few mermen as well, not as popular as the females but you get what I mean."

No, no Liam really didn't understand what Niall meant by that. Were the myths of mermaids true? Did that mean there were actual half human half fish creatures inside of the seas? Good thing Liam didn't want to go swimming in the open sea any time soon or preferably ever again after what that boy had just said. "So... you're saying that tail is real? You can't take it off and have legs there?"  
"Nope, I mean, I guess that would be cool, I could go on land and walk, woah...," he mumbled, a stupid smile on his lips.

"That's...," Liam was lost for words as he stared into the blond's blue eyes, trying to make sense of what he was saying and what he was seeing. Liam's eyes involuntarily glanced down onto the boy's exposed wet chest and noticed something abnormal on the sides of his thorax. Were those gills? There were definitely five gaps in the blond's sides and although fish can't breathe outside of water because their gills would stick together and not allow them to breathe, the boy – or well, merman? – was able to breathe fine, so Liam guessed he also had working lungs. "Strange?"

"A bad strange or a good strange? You know just cause you've never been informed about us doesn't mean we're weird, yeah? I mean there's always the good weird as well, but you know what I mean. I'm half human as well, so I guess you could just ignore my tail if that makes you feel better," the blond blabbered on, not even letting the brunet in front of him respond to anything he was saying. He almost made it sound like they were going to be friends now and Liam really didn't know how to feel about that.  
"No, I- I didn't mean the bad kind of strange, just strange? Like... I thought it was just a Disney story or whatever, and now you're here... but I've been fishing several times before, where were you?," Liam asked curiously, watching the way the blond's chest heaved with every inhale and exhale of breath.

"Oh, I've only recently been here, didn't want to be in the same lake as my Ma to be honest, like I love her but y'know all the independence you're craving after a while? Yeah," the blond smiled, suddenly extending one of his arms towards Liam after he securely leaned onto the rail to support his body, "I'm Niall by the way."  
Liam hesitated for a second before he reached out and took Niall's wet hand, shaking it slowly with a small smile on his lips since he was still confused and tried to comprehend what happened. "Liam," he answered softly.

\-------------------

It had been a few days since Liam discovered that there was a merman in the lake he usually chose to go fishing to and he still hadn't gone back. He felt too embarrassed actually because he basically told Niall to fuck off after they introduced themselves. Of course, he hadn't intended to let it come out like that and he never even used words that could be considered rude. After all, he had just said that he really had to go home now because the day had been uneventful enough – he didn't specifically tell Niall that meeting him had practically blown his mind – and he didn't want to 'continue and kill Niall's friends'. Which really only had been an excuse because the brunet man solemnly wanted to get away from the fish-human to clear his thoughts and so he could try to understand that it hadn't been a dream.

But now Liam found himself with his hands shoved in his jeans pockets, on his way down to the lake so he could talk to Niall again and apologise for acting like he did. He even had thought about what exactly he would say to the blond merman, it was even kind of silly because he was almost 100% sure that Niall wouldn't really care if the brunet would just stutter out a 'sorry for leaving like I did' or if he was able to come up with ten thoroughly thought through arguments.

As Liam neared the lake, he almost wanted to turn around and leave to go back home and just ignore the merman forever but then again he also felt extremely bad and guilty for how he left and he at least wanted to stop feeling guilty every time he thought back to how stupid he had acted less than a week ago.  
Liam made his way down the little path to get to the jetty so he'd be able to sit down and hopefully meet Niall again so they could talk. For some reason the merman intrigued him and he even was a little bit curious to learn about him and other mermen or mermaids. For example how no human being had ever found out about them before, but here he was, about to have another conversation with a very giggly and smiling one.

Liam really had no idea how he'd be able to call Niall because he didn't go down to his boat but rather close to the shore since he didn't plan on going fishing in this lake again after Niall had told him he was killing his friends. Before that the brunet had never even thought about that he was killing an animal for sport but now that the merman had pointed it out he actually felt bad.

Sitting down at the edge of the jetty, Liam let his feet dangle from it, looking down into the clear water. It was warmer today and not raining, which was actually really nice because Liam would've hated to sit out in the cold rain again. But since it was rather warm and the sun was shining brightly but not spending as much warmth as Liam would've liked, he only wore a thin jacket and a t-shirt underneath.  
"Um, Niall?," Liam called out, actually feeling really stupid for basically shouting into the water. Anyone that would pass by would think he's mental for doing something like that. "I- I wanted to talk..."

He sat and waited, eyes wandering over the little waves in hopes of seeing the merman somewhere there, swimming over with the same smile he had worn the day they met. Liam felt a bit weird for being so nervous suddenly because it wasn't that he would see Niall ever again after this. He just wanted to apologise and then make sure he could get over the fact that he spoke to a merman, not make plans to meet up again and become the best of friends. So it didn't really matter if the blond merman had been angry at him or even upset with him for not showing up earlier because they weren't friends or anything, they were just strangers that met once and knew each other's names, nothing special.

Just as Liam was thinking that it had all been a stupid idea anyways, a figure suddenly surfaced right beside his feet, causing him to flinch in surprise. "Liam!," the merman exclaimed with a huge smile, holding onto the edge of the jetty and resting his head on his hands there, starting up at the human. "How are you?"  
"Um, I-I'm fine? You?," Liam stuttered, still a bit flabbergasted that the blond had actually heard him and popped out of nowhere, kind of scaring him a bit even.

"I'm great, actually! Missed you here, to be honest," the blond bluntly admitted, glancing up at the human with a smile and suddenly nudged the brunet's leg, eyes wide with curiosity, "did you forget about me?"  
"What?," Liam asked a bit shocked, staring down at the merman and feeling his cheeks heating up a bit under the intense stare of the merman, "I didn't, what makes you think that?" How could he really? It wasn't an everyday-thing to meet a merman on a particularly rainy day out in a medium-sized lake, so of course he didn't forget about him.

"You didn't come back until now, I thought I lost my new friend," the blond mumbled, suddenly no smile on his lips anymore as he looked down, making Liam feel extremely guilty and he also bit back the 'we're not friends' because that would have probably made things worse now. Niall was a person one would never want to see sad or not smiling.  
"Oh, I didn't have time, sorry...," Liam mumbled, not looking at the other boy as he said that knowing it wasn't a real lie but also not the whole truth. "I actually wanted to apologise for leaving like I did, that was really rude of me and I-"

"No no! I don't mind, I totally understand that humans have a busy life! You walk around all day, huh? That must be so cool!," the merman was back to smiling and he excitedly looked up at the man, finger poking at Liam's thigh again, "Can you really move both of them how you want? I can't imagine having two legs where my tail is, but I've heard you can also swim with legs? That's so crazy."

In the end, Liam had sat with the merman for several hours, just talking about whatever came to their minds – and Liam even showed Niall his toes by the excited merman's request who had totally lost his mind as he saw that the brunet could wiggle his toes – and although the brunet had actually just wanted to apologise and to forget that he had ever met the merman, he had really enjoyed the time with Niall. He was easy to talk to and really cute when he was overly excited, especially as he had wanted to show Liam that he could swim to the other end of the lake in less than fifteen seconds. It ended with Liam taking his phone out to count how long it would take the blond to swim to the other end and after Niall had practically flipped out because he had always wondered what a phone was, the blond had actually achieved to reach the other end in 13 and a half seconds.

So that's how Liam found himself visiting the merman once a week at first, just sitting at the edge of the jetty and chatting with Niall for a few hours until he either had to leave for a meeting or because it was getting dark. At one point Liam had even taken McDonald's takeout with him and offered Niall something who had hugged him for the first time then, wetting the jumper Liam had worn that day but for some strange reason the older brunet really couldn't have cared less as he had hugged back with a chuckle.

After a few weeks of them occasionally meeting up at the jetty and talking about god and the world, Liam had picked up the habit to go and visit Niall every weekend, because he mostly never had a meeting on those days, and bring takeout with, whether it had been Chinese or junk food, Niall had always loved it.  
And now that it had been about six months since they first met, Liam came by almost daily. He would drive his car towards the path he'd have to go down to get to the jetty and then he'd greet Niall who was now used to sitting on the jetty a few times as well, but not for too long because his skin would start to itch the drier he'd get and Liam was actually really worried it would cause some damage to the blond's body if he would sit outside the water for too long.

And the more often he visited Niall, the more his friends got suspicious, already coming up with weird theories of him hooking up with random people or being in a relationship because Liam actually neglected his other friends a bit. It was just that Niall was such a great person to talk to that Liam sometimes forgot he had other friends as well who were either worried or annoyed with him for not doing something with them anymore.

Liam had actually agreed to meet up with his best friend and his boyfriend after a meeting, just so they could catch up a bit and hang out with a few drinks. It wasn't that Liam didn't miss the 'lads' evenings' he just rather would be with a certain blond haired and blue eyed merman and talk away the hours of each day.

"Thank you," Liam smiled at his assistant after she handed him a binder full of papers he had to sign or read over. He would definitely do that this evening because right now he was already late to meet up with Louis, and knowing his best friend, he would assume Liam went to his 'love interest' before coming to the café they were meeting at. The brunet man made sure his computer was shut off and everything on his table was intact before he took his jacket and attaché case, pushing the chair closer to the desk and walking out of his office. He shut off the lights and closed the door, smiling and saying 'goodbye' to the people running around the lobby as he made his way towards the multi-storey car park where his car was standing.

The man sat down in the driver's seat with a sigh, actually feeling extremely bad that he wasn't going to go and visit Niall today but he planned to go and at least say 'hi' to the blond later that day. Upon arriving at the café, Liam took off his tie and jacket and placed those on the seat before locking his car and walking inside the café.

"Finally," was the first thing his best friend said with a huff as Liam spotted the couple and made it over to them. "I thought you'd never come," Louis huffed but stood up to wrap his arms around his best friend in a short hug and sitting down next to his boyfriend again, who only politely smiled at Liam since they hadn't known each other for that long yet. Liam returned that smile as he sat down opposite of Louis and noticed the cup with latte macchiato in front of him.  
"Thanks, Lou," Liam said with a smile and took a sip, looking at the couple in front of him with curious eyes. They hadn't been together for that long yet but Liam really liked Harry, he was good for Louis.

"Now, Liam, did you meet your next hookup or the secret lover you don't wanna tell us about, before you came here?," Louis started with a knowing smirk whereas his boyfriend only smiled as he stared at him, and Liam only rolled his eyes. He knew his best friend too well.  
"Why did I know you would ask that? But anyways, I didn't meet up with anyone, just had a lot of paperwork to do before I got here," he answered truthfully, knowing that Louis would notice if he lied anyways and all those times he had been with Niall hadn't been hook-ups or times with his lover considering he and the merman were only friends, so he hadn't lied then, either.

"You're your own boss, why don't you give yourself a bit more time to rest? Take a break of two weeks, you deserve that," Louis said softly suddenly, but Liam only shrugged it off, he had enough free time after all but he chose to spend most of it either in his office or with his new friend Niall.  
They continued to talk for a while, laughter filling the small café from time to time and Liam really enjoyed the time with his best friend but he couldn't help that his mind wandered off to Niall. He would rather be sharing a laugh with Niall right now, because the blond had the cutest and most contagious laugh ever.

All of a sudden huge lorries drove past the café and Liam looked up curiously. Before he even had the chance to ask if any of the two knew where those were driving to, Harry spoke up. "They are driving to west water, it's kind of sad that they are going to fill that in. I mean, there are so many fish and plants in there, I don't know how they got the legal allowance to do that," the curly haired man shook his head in disbelief but all Liam could think about was that it was Niall's lake. His heart raced as he thought about the poor confused merman being buried alive under thousands of pounds of soil.

"Shit, I need to go," Liam sprung up, quickly taking out a twenty pound note and placing it next to what he had ordered before he dashed out of the café, Louis and Harry following him shortly afterwards.

Louis grabbed his shoulder in a harsh grip before Liam was able to climb into his car and drive to the lake as fast as he could to get Niall out of there before the lorries would be there and kill him. The thought caused Liam to shudder uncomfortably and he tried to shove his best friend off.  
"Liam, wait, fuck! What's wrong, we can help!," Louis yelled out to get Liam's attention, who only stared at him blankly for a few seconds until tears gathered in his eyes because why couldn't his best friend just let him drive to save his friend Niall? He had to get there in time, but if they were going to talk it could already be too late and he'd never get to see Niall's beautiful contagious smile again, he wouldn't hear his cute accent or laugh and he wouldn't be able to show him even more human stuff from time to time.

"M-My boat a-and Niall are in that lake," he stuttered out, not caring that he just told Louis and his boyfriend that someone was in that lake and if they'd come with him they'd find out about the merman. "H-he'll die, oh my god, Louis! Please let me go!"  
"W-we'll come with you, um Haz can you call your manager to get someone to get Liam's boat out of the lake?," Louis asked and before he went over to his own car with his boyfriend, he gave Liam a reassuring smile and Liam couldn't have been happier to have a best friend like Louis who didn't ask a million unnecessary questions and just let Liam drive to the lake to get Niall. He didn't even have an idea what he'd do once he'd have Niall out of the lake because he didn't want the merman to dry up and die because of that.

Liam probably broke several laws as he drove towards the lake, driving up to the path that he knew by heart now and he jumped out of his car, forgetting to lock it even as he rushed down the path and the jetty. After all he was in a game against time right now.  
"Niall!," he yelled, eyes scanning the water frantically but he couldn't see his friend anywhere, just the waves softly frothing against the jetty or the shore. His heart started to pound even faster as he saw the lorries driving up to the other side of the lake. Niall could be there, he could be there and he could be just swimming around innocently only to be buried alive under the soil. "NIALL!"

Frantically, Liam started to take off his shoes and socks, not caring about his expensive suit as he dove into the water, resurfacing quickly to take a breath and shout Niall's name once again. He could see the men starting to close off the area so Liam quickly dove down again and ignored the way his eyes burned as he opened them, looking around for his friend with a panicked and fast beating heart. Suddenly he saw a figure swimming towards him quickly and he surfaced to catch his breath again, waiting to see Niall's head pop out of the water as well.

And as he did, right before him, Liam didn't waste any time at all as he grabbed the blond's arm, ignoring the panicked look on Niall's face as he swam over to the jetty. "You have to get out of here, fast and now!," he constructed, pulling himself up and out of the water, wiping the water out of his face before looking down at his friend.

"What's happening, Liam, I-I'm scared, my friends-"

"Please, Niall, t-they're filling this lake in with soil, please, take my hand," Liam reached his hand out for Niall to take and he could see the hesitation written across the blond's face as he stared up at his human friend. Liam couldn't imagine how it would feel like to lose his home and a lot of his friends so drastically but then again he didn't want to let Niall stay in that lake longer and getting buried alive.  
With determination in the blond's blue eyes, the merman grabbed a hold of the human's hand and helped him pull him out of the water. Of course, there was a huge risk that people would see Niall's tail and Liam really had no idea how he'd get Niall all the way up to his car but he'd carry him without a second thought. The tail weighed a lot, Liam knew that but he'd rather hurt himself than give up and let his friend die. No, he'd never let that happen.

"Are we going to your home?," Niall asked after Liam had pulled him onto the jetty. The brunet would've laughed about the blond's curiosity if they wouldn't be in this kind of situation because they didn't have a lot of time to get to Liam's house, considering that Niall had to stay wet to stay alive. He'd probably put Niall into his Jacuzzi until they'd figure out something else.  
"Yeah, love, you'll see a human's home, excited?," Liam asked, the 'love' an accident as he tried to ignore what he had said and grabbed Niall underneath his arms and started to drag him down the jetty after he had put on his socks and shoes again, with great difficulty since his feet were still wet with water. Niall hummed and held onto Liam's hands, not struggling whatsoever, as Liam started to breathe harder. The merman surely weighed a lot more than he looked like.

"Liam!," the brunet suddenly heard his best friend's voice behind him and if he had had enough time to panic any more, he certainly would have freaked out as he heard the footsteps approaching them, but all he cared about was Niall's wellbeing now. "What the- is that a fish tail?!"  
"Yes, Louis, now help me carry him to my car," Liam huffed as he looked over his shoulder to see his best friend with wide eyes until he sprung to life again and carefully wrapped his arms around Niall's torso and lifted that part of his body up.  
"Hi, I'm Niall! I'm Liam's merman, nice to meet you, friend of my Liam," Niall smiled at the other human, and Liam felt fondness bubbling up inside of his as he heard Niall introduce himself as Liam's and that Liam was his.  
"Uh, hi, I'm Louis...," Louis said a bit awkwardly, probably as shocked as Liam had been the first time he had seen Niall about half a year ago, but the oldest didn't have enough time to really freak out like Liam did because of the situation they were in.

Together with Louis' help, Liam carried Niall all the way to his car and sat Niall in the backseat, only to notice another problem. Niall's tail was too long for the car. They tried out a few positions until Niall finally fit, sitting leaned against the right door and having his tail flopped against the left. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable position he could be in, but Niall had reassured Liam that being in a car and getting to see the human world made it all worth it.  
After Liam had finally sat down in his car and started to drive to his house, this time with legal speed, he couldn't help the smile on his face as he heard Niall blabber about how exciting this was and that he would love to go to all the shops they drove by. Liam had to explained almost everything to him because Niall demanded to know every little detail about every shop they passed by.  
For some reason Liam was really happy he had blacked out windows for the back seats or else he'd have a huge problem with a merman sitting in the back of his car.

They arrived at Liam's house after a few minutes, since the house wasn't all that far away from the west water lake, and Liam got Niall out with Louis' help again, who had driven behind them in his own car the whole time, probably explaining everything to his boyfriend as well.

"So, you're a merman?," Louis asked again after the three humans sat down beside the Jacuzzi Liam had filled with water but not put on, so Niall could be in there until they'd get a tank or something similar for the merman. The blond had his typical permanent smile on his lips, his hair was soft against his forehead since he couldn't exactly dive into the water in a Jacuzzi that he barely fit in. Liam liked that look, though, it made Niall look very cuddly and soft.  
"Yes! And you're all humans, this is so exciting!," Niall giggled, the tip of his tail poking out of the water since the Jacuzzi wasn't that super big but at least he wouldn't dry out.

"Oh, by the way, Liam, they got your boat out before they started to fill in the lake. Damn, I feel so shitty now for not doing anything against that, like, they could've...," Harry trailed off, not wanting to say the word aloud and to their all surprise Niall only laughed it off.

"Nah, you can't get rid of me that fast!"

\--------------

It had been exactly one week after Liam had saved Niall out of the lake and brought him back to his home. One week of difficulties but also a week full of smiles and laughs. The brunet man had come to the realisation that Niall had a happy-go-lucky personality a long time ago, but he hadn't known that the blond boy would be smiley and happy most of the time, as well. It was as if Niall was Liam's own happiness that was growing each and every day.  
They had quickly gotten rid of the Jacuzzi problem by Liam buying an immensely large tank for Niall and having it placed right inside of his huge living area. He had enough space anyways, and he wanted his blond merman to stay inside of his house rather than have him outside for everyone to see.  
Even if Liam wasn't the only one who knew about the existence of mermen and mermaids now, it wasn't that they wanted all of the people, and potentially also crazy scientist ones, to know about him.

"Liam!," Niall greeted the human with a wave as he swam over to the thick glass of the tank and placed his hand onto it, smiling brightly. The man had just gotten up, his hair a complete mess and he was only wearing sweatpants at the moment, but he still smiled at the merman, placing his hand over the glass where Niall's was. The blond had been inside of the tank for a day now, and he absolutely loved it from what he had told Liam. He could swim around freely and it was big enough for him to feel comfortable in it, and he also loved the little 'house' Liam had put into it, so Niall could hide and sleep in there if he wanted to.  
Louis had teased them and said it was as if he was keeping Niall as his pet but Liam had only smacked the back of his head for that and had assured Niall that that definitely wasn't what he wanted the merman to be for him. 'You're my friend, Niall,' he had said with sincerity in his voice, heart beating maybe a bit too hard at that moment but he had ignored the feeling.

"Hey, love. You still liking your tank? I swear I'll expand it if you want more space, just tell me," Liam said with a sleepy smile, rubbing at his eyes to get the sleep out of them. Now that Niall had been underwater in that tank the brunet man had feared they wouldn't be able to communicate anymore but he had soon found out that it was rather easy to understand the blond even underwater.  
"Yes," Niall nodded his head to emphasise his point and he swam a little somersault, giggling loudly so even Liam was able to hear his beautiful laugh.

The brunet had come to terms with the fact that he may have a tiny crush on the blond boy but at the same time he still wasn't so sure about that because maybe his heart was just playing tricks on him and he really only liked Niall as a friend. He didn't even know if Niall was really capable of love because like the blond had explained to him a few months ago, the mermen and mermaids duty was to protect the seas, lakes, and rivers sometimes as well, at all cost and he never spoke of love really. It was silly that Liam worries about that because he, himself, wasn't even sure what exactly he was feeling for the blond.

"Thank you, Li, you're the best human!," Niall said, giggling as he pressed a kiss to the glass before swimming up to the surface while Liam went over to the steps that lead up to the little tiny jetty he had attached to the tank. Just for nostalgic reasons and because he really loved to speak to Niall like that.  
As he reached the jetty, he sat down after pulling his sweatpants up since he'd dangle his legs and they'd be half way in the water. "Of course I am, I would be offended if you wouldn't think that," Liam chuckled as he ruffled Niall's wet hair, who was staring up at his with a goofy smile and wide sparkling eyes.

They sat in silence for a bit, until the blond all of a sudden moved closer and rested his chin on Liam's thigh, eyes falling shut as he gently placed his hands on the human's legs as well. The brunet wasn't really shocked anymore that his heart started to beat uncontrollably in his chest and he felt warm all over as he watched the blond's head on his lap. Sometimes he wished that Niall could be human, just so he wouldn't be trapped in the water for the rest of his life and maybe also because Liam really wanted to show Niall all of the things he was so enthusiastic about. "Liam?," Niall suddenly spoke up, tone kind of different than normally and Liam gently started to thread his fingers through the blond's wet hair, rubbing at his scalp. "Am I a failure? I-I just miss all of my friends and they're all… they're…"

Liam suddenly could hear Niall sniffle, then grip his thigh a bit tighter and he was sure his heart broke at that sound. "No, of course you're not. You couldn't have known what happened… I mean, I didn't either. And they already got in trouble for not contacting me because my boat was in that lake… but I mean… that's just a boat and you lost your home and all of your friends. I'm so sorry, love, I wish I could've prevented that."  
"N-no, no, it's fine I-I mean, they were just fish anyways," Niall sniffled, head pressing more into Liam's lap now as he cried silently, finally grieving over the loss of his home and familiarity.

"Don't say that, they were your friends. It doesn't matter if they were fish or whatever else, I'm so sorry," Liam muttered quietly, gently cupping the blond's cheeks and lifting his head up to stare into his teary eyes. The sight broke his heart into a million pieces and he never ever wanted to see Niall this sad and upset again, he didn't ever want to see him cry so he made up his mind to always make him laugh and give him no reason for sadness. "I didn't think about letting you get at least a few of your friends to take with you but I can buy some fish to accompany you if you want? Or I also couldn't, whatever you want, yeah?"

"Y-yeah, I- that would be lovely, but um, let's not talk about this anymore," Niall stuttered, eyes glancing away briefly before he looked into Liam's eyes again. The intensity of Niall's stare caused shivers to run down the brunet's back, anticipation tickling his skin as his eyes flickered down to the thin pink lips of the beautiful boy in front of him and call him crazy or whatever else, he really wanted to kiss the blond at this moment. Maybe he would've even done that, hadn't the blond looked away again and broke the intense stare.  
It left Liam wondering if he felt awkward or if the merman knew what Liam had been about to do and didn't want that to happen. That actually crushed Liam's heart and perhaps his feelings for Niall were far more than just a silly crush at this point.

"C-can I do something stupid?," Niall asked meekly, hands coming up to grasp Liam's on his cheeks as his eyes flickered up again, the intensity never leaving his stare.  
"Like what?," the brunet man asked, his voice quiet and timid even.

"Like this," and with that the blond pushed himself up and pressed his lips onto Liam's in a soft but firm kiss. For a split second Liam didn't know what to do, body completely frozen as he felt the thin lips press up against his own and making his inside turn into mush as he felt warm all over. But then he pressed his lips back to Niall's, hands slowly letting go of his cheeks to run down to Niall's hips, holding onto those tightly as their lips stayed pressed together. And maybe Liam should've let their first kiss be as innocent as it was right now, but he really couldn't help himself as he started to move his lips slowly against Niall's, unsure if the merman knew what to do but he seemed to know exactly what to do as he moved his own in sync with Liam's.

For moments the only noise in the room was the slick sound of their lips moving against the other's, until Niall's hands wrapped around the older' neck and he pulled himself up even more then, pressing his wet body against Liam's, their bare chests touching and causing goosebumps to rise on Liam's skin. Their lips moved until they started to ache slightly, only slowly stopping to kiss each other with such passion and then alternating between pressing quick pecks to the other lips or smiling into a kiss.  
"That wasn't stupid, love," Liam whispered as he finally fluttered his eyes open again, staring into the blue eyes of the boy he liked, faces only inches apart and lips slightly touching as Liam spoke.

Niall smiled slightly, burying his face into Liam's bare shoulder and holding on tightly, "it tingles everywhere," he giggled, as Liam wrapped his arms securely around his merman' body, eyes closing as they hugged tightly. They hadn't hugged often because Niall had always felt bad for practically drenching Liam in water at the same time but now the brunet really couldn't care less as he felt his sweatpants getting wet because of Niall's body pressing into his own. "For me too," Liam whispered, pressing a kiss to Niall's wet hair before he continued to hold him in a tight grip, not planning to let him go any time soon.

"Ow, m-my tail itches," Niall whined, leaning back a bit and both of them looked at the blond's shiny blue tail, he was half way in the water so it couldn't be itching because he was too dry, right? "Oww," the merman whimpered this time hands going down to hold onto his tail as he sunk into the water and all Liam could do was watch with shock as the water started to engulf Niall completely. "Niall?!," he called out, staring down and right as he was about to jump into the water to make sure his merman was save, he saw it. Instead of the blue shiny tail, his merman now had two legs that were joined on his hips.

Confusion was written all over Liam's face but as he saw the panicked look on Niall's face and the way he gestured to his throat, Liam knew he couldn't breathe underwater anymore. So without a second thought, Liam jumped into the tank and pulled Niall into his arms to swim back up and break the surface. "Deep breaths, love, w- you're fine, yeah? Does it hurt?," Liam asked worried and helped his boy onto the jetty, noticing he was completely naked now. A blush formed on his cheeks as he hoisted himself up onto the jetty as well and quickly pulled the blond merman – or well human now? – into his arms.

"N-no, just… what happened?," he asked confused, arms wrapping around the brunet's waist tightly as he hugged him and buried his face into his bare and now also wet chest. Neither of them cared, though, since both of them were wet anyways.  
There was no explanation to what just happened to the blond merman. Hadn't he said he had been born with a tail? How come he had human legs now, suddenly and out of the blue? Liam didn't know much about the merpeople's world, just what Niall had told him but it seemed as if even the blond hadn't known this was possible. For a merfolk to turn into human.

"I-I have no idea, come let me get you some clothes to wear…," Liam offered after a while, pressing a kiss to the blond's temple as he stood up and gently pulled the blond up as well, who leaned onto him for support since he wasn't used to the feeling of legs yet and Liam could completely understand that. He wouldn't know how to use a tail if he suddenly grew one – but he really hoped he wouldn't now that they were both humans.  
"Do I get to wear pants?!," Niall asked excitedly suddenly, staring up at Liam with huge pleading eyes and all the brunet could do was laugh, hold his boy closer and press a kiss to his wet forehead.

"Of course, love."


End file.
